Battery-Powered Percussive Massage Device
Patent No. US10912708 (titled "Battery-Powered Percussive Massage Device") was filed by Acp Post Oak Credit I Llc on Jul 17, 2020.
What is this patent about?
’708 is related to the field of therapeutic devices, specifically those that deliver percussive massage. Percussive massage devices, also known as tapotement devices, rapidly tap or slap the body to stimulate deep-tissue muscles and increase local blood circulation. Traditional methods involve manual application by a therapist, which can be tiring and inconsistent. Existing electromechanical devices are often bulky, expensive, and tethered to a power outlet, limiting portability and ease of use.
The underlying idea behind ’708 is to create a portable, battery-powered percussive massage device that is quieter and more ergonomic than existing solutions. This is achieved through a novel reciprocating mechanism that converts the rotary motion of a motor into linear motion of an applicator head. A key element is the use of a flexible linkage between the motor's crank and the piston driving the applicator, which reduces noise and vibration compared to traditional rigid linkages.
The claims of ’708 focus on a battery-powered percussive massage device featuring a main enclosure, a motor with a rotating shaft, and a reciprocation assembly that includes a piston. The claims emphasize the handle's design, which houses a battery, a printed circuit board with a battery controller, and a charge indication display using LEDs. A key feature is an annular light-transmissive ring that propagates light from the LEDs to the outside of the handle, indicating the battery's charge level.
In practice, the motor's rotating shaft turns an eccentric crank, which is connected to the piston via a transfer bracket and the flexible linkage. As the crank rotates, the flexible linkage bends and straightens, translating the rotary motion into a reciprocating linear motion of the piston. This linear motion drives the applicator head, delivering percussive massage. The flexible linkage, made of a resilient rubber material, cushions the abrupt changes in direction of the piston, reducing noise and stress on the mechanical components.
The design differentiates itself from prior art by eliminating a bearing at the piston end of the linkage system and using the flexible linkage to absorb energy during directional changes. This reduces noise and vibration compared to conventional systems with rigid linkages and multiple bearings. The device also offers interchangeable applicator heads for different massage effects and a battery-powered design for enhanced portability. The LED charge indicator with the light-transmissive ring provides a clear and easily visible indication of the battery's charge status.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2010s when ’708 was filed, electromechanical massage devices were commercially available, at a time when such devices typically relied on an electric motor coupled to a reciprocating piston within a cylinder. At that time, converting rotational energy of an electric motor to reciprocating motion of a piston presented hardware or software constraints that made it non-trivial to produce devices that were small, lightweight, quiet, and portable.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner allowed the claims because the prior art (Danby) discloses a percussive massage device with a main enclosure, a motor with a rotatable shaft, a reciprocation assembly coupled to the shaft, an applicator head removably attached to the piston, and a handle attached to the main enclosure. However, Danby, Goldstein, Jeong, and Cacioppo, either alone or in combination, do not disclose a plurality of LEDs positioned on the mounting surface of the printed circuit board near a peripheral edge of the mounting surface, the light emitted outward from the LEDs towards the peripheral edge of the printer circuit board to the annular light transmissive ring in alignment with the LEDs to propagate light to the outside of the handle. The examiner determined that any conclusion of obviousness would be based on improper hindsight reasoning, using knowledge gleaned only from the Applicant's disclosure.
Claims
This patent includes 18 claims, with independent claims 1, 7, and 13. The independent claims are directed to a battery-powered percussive massage device (claims 1 and 7) and a battery assembly for such a device (claim 13). The dependent claims generally specify further details and variations of the features described in the independent claims, such as the shape and properties of the light transmissive ring and the characteristics of the LEDs.
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Date
Description
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US10912708
- Application Number
- US16931860
- Filing Date
- Jul 17, 2020
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Feb 22, 2038
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents